Read the Pedigree, Please

First published in the Walking Horse News. Reprinted with permission.

The breed known as the Tennessee Walking Horse can be registered with the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association, the Canadian Registry of the Tennessee Walking Horse, or both. In addition, some individual horses can be registered with the Spotted Saddle Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association, the International Heritage Walking Horse Association, the Missouri Foxtrotting Horse Association, the Racking Horse Breeders Association of America, the Palomino Horse Breeders Association, or The Champagne Horse Association, to name several others. The common thread that runs through all these registration bodies is the pedigree.

Breeders of horses that are registered with a breeders’ association receive registration papers with the foals or older horses that they record with the association. These registration papers list the name of the horse, the registration number, the breeder or breeders, the owner at time of registration, often also the breeder, and the foaling date. These papers are part of the legacy of the horse, since they record what bloodlines produced this individual and offer generalized hints as to the horse’s potential in the breeding shed and /or under saddle. Buyers of foals or older horses should take the time and expense to transfer the certificates into their names. Otherwise, this legacy could be lost with an unexpected or unplanned change of ownership.

Owners should make the effort to memorize their animals’ registered names. “The dark bay one is Chip and the chestnut is Rosie, but I never can remember what is says on their papers” should not be heard from owners of registered walking horse stock. If the papers are lost (it happens!) or accidentally destroyed, and the horse has an unusual name, it can take time or maybe not even be possible to obtain a duplicate certificate with the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders and Exhibitors’ Association, not to mention other groups with which the horse could also be registered.

Horse owners should also be aware of the parents of their horses. Many buyers want horses by World Grand Champions out of mares sired by World Grand Champions. But these horses, in recent years, are just